Phillips' wrist, Votto sits

After Monday’s Game 2 victory where he went 3-for-4 with a home run, Brandon Phillips offered up the information, unsolicited, that he had a fractured left wrist, stemming from when he was hit by a pitch on Aug. 15. Phillips said it was a small hairline fracture, in fact.

“I’m playing with a fractured wrist that people don’t even know about,” Phillips said last night. “I’m here just grinding it out and finishing the season.”

On Tuesday, Phillips asked the reporters to gather around him in the clubhouse. This time, he recanted what he said on Monday — probably at the request of the medical staff who reported from the start that he had a deep bone bruise.

“My wrist is not broken. I didn’t mean to say broken,” Phillips said. “I know I didn’t say ‘broken.’ I said ‘fracture.’ I didn’t know ‘fracture’ and ‘broken’ meant the same thing. My wrist feels like it’s fractured. Yeah. That right there.

“The last time I took an X-ray, it said there’s nothing broke. Broken and fractured are the same thing. It feels like it’s broken, fractured, or broken — it’s the same thing. But my wrist really does bother me.”

All I can say is that was a weird moment. Broken and fracture might mean the same thing but deep bone bruise and fracture does not.

Joey Votto was given a break. Votto is mired a career-high tying 0-for-15 slump. He was also 0-for-15 in the first part of August.

“I think Joey needs it and deserves it,” manager Dusty Baker said. “I could tell his concentration is not quite there. He has a very high level of concentration. I can tell he’s frustrated. He doesn’t get angry but he’s been getting angry lately.”

Jay Bruce, who really did have a fractured wrist, took batting practice on the field for the first time on Tuesday and reported that all went well. It’s likely that Bruce will go to Triple-A Louisville this weekend for a rehab assignment.

“I have no complaints. I felt good. I felt strong,” Bruce said. “It’s all about repeating now. It’s all about doing it again day after day with no pain or discomfort.”

Catcher Ryan Hanigan (concussion) could also be headed to Louisville with Bruce for his own rehab assignment. Both Hanigan and Bruce would be eligible to participate in Triple-A postseason play, which Louisville begins on Sept. 9.

Catcher Ramon Hernandez is also making progress, just not as fast as he would like. Hernandez has been on the DL since July 20 because of left knee surgery. He tried squatting today and expected to try blocking balls tomorrow. He’s also been hitting off of a tee and running.

Hernandez hoped to be back with the team by the middle of September.

“It’s been really hard for me,” Hernandez said. “Right now it’s better but two weeks ago was when I should be feeling like this. I’m disappointed because I didn’t recover that quick. I feel like if I don’t play in September, that I will let a lot of people down.”

The International League announced today that Justin Lehr was the most valuable pitcher and Rick Sweet was back-to-back winner of Manager of the Year.

If you do the USA Today crossword puzzle today, I know the answer to 42 across. It says “Scott, who plays third.” The answer is Scott Rolen.

“You know you made it when,” Corky Miller wrote on a copy of the puzzle page before he taped it to Rolen’s locker.

Before Tuesday’s game, the Reds were planning to honor Erich Kunzel, the longtime Cincinnati Pops conductor who died today at age 74. Kunzel was a huge Reds fan, and co-wrote a song called “Hooray for the Cincinnati Reds” that made its debut on May 19, 1997 at Riverfront Stadium.

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